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Steve Sarkisian stirred up Texas QB controversy with Arch Manning, even though he says he didn’t

Vaseline October 20, 2024

AUSTIN, Texas – On Thursday, on the eve of a heavyweight clash between No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian was asked what it would take to switch the quarterbacks from Quinn Ewers to Arch Manning midway through the game . The coach quickly dismissed the question, saying, “I’m not even going to answer that. I don’t know what the question is.”

Two days later we got a response that was suddenly the new headline of the season in Texas.

Sarkisian pulled Ewers for Manning late in the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Bulldogs, trailing 20-0 in what became a final score of 30-15. Manning closed the first half with two drives. And while Sarkisian went back to Ewers to open the second half and Ewers played better as Texas made the final score respectable, the coach opened a can of worms that he has long been desperate to avoid.

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“Quinn is our starting quarterback,” Sarkisian said after the game.

He can say that to the media and the fans, but you can’t put that genie back in the bottle now. It’s a quarterback controversy, however you want to define it. It’s an unexpected key in what until Saturday was a perfect season for Texas. Fans who already wanted Manning to play now know it’s possible he could come in if Ewers doesn’t play well.

Sarkisian has been a staunch defender of Ewers since he arrived on campus and had handled the quarterback situation as best as humanly possible thus far. He was well aware of what pulling Ewers for the highly touted Manning for non-injury reasons would mean for this team’s attention. But the door is now open and it will remain that way for the rest of the season.

It has been nearly impossible for Texas and Sarkisian to keep the Arch hype at bay because it is everywhere. If you walk around a game in Texas this year, you’ll see a lot more fans in Manning jerseys than in Ewers. The No. 16 jerseys and shirts are prominently positioned in the team stores surrounding Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Fans ask each other at every game if they see Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew coming into the game. Poor Ewers got a Dr. Pepper commercial, but the entire building was backed up.

There are so many Arch Manning jerseys in Austin. pic.twitter.com/sg4UaWJLyI

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 19, 2024

I wrote after Texas’ win at Michigan that Ewers deserved more respect and that it was time to stop the Arch questions while Ewers was still in the burnt orange. It was Ewers who brought Texas back to prominence. But then Ewers injured his oblique side, missed two games and was not the same in the two games back. He threw for 17 yards with two turnovers in Saturday’s first half before being benched.

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When Manning started Saturday’s game trailing 20-0, the cheers from the crowd were enormous.

“I felt like Quinn was feeling a little bit uncomfortable, and I wanted to give him a chance to take a step back and regroup,” said Sarkisian, explaining the change. “I didn’t know if we were going to get one or two series with Arch depending on how much time was left in the half, so we just told Quinn that we’re going to go here with Arch so you get a chance to get in the locker room, regroup and then come back in the second half, so that’s what we did.”

But Ewers told reporters after the game that he was not told he would be returning to the game until he was in the locker room at halftime.

“(Coaches said) they’re going to give Arch a chance and just give me time to settle down,” Ewers said.

Manning briefly gave Texas a spark. The ball came out of his hand faster and faster than Ewers. He completed three of six passes, scrambled for a 21-yard gain, and his mobility was clearly an asset. But he took a bad sack for a loss of 11 yards, then took another sack and fumbled the ball away, leading to a Georgia field goal and a 23-0 halftime lead.

GEORGIA Forces the bow crew fumble 😳

THE BULLDOGS KEEP ROLLING IN AUSTIN 👀 pic.twitter.com/c05YfLJnrR

— ESPN (@espn) October 20, 2024

It was a reminder that the hyped Manning still has some work to do on the field, like when he threw two interceptions and barely completed half his passes against Louisiana-Monroe before playing much better against Mississippi State.

Ewers started the second half and quickly drove Texas down for a touchdown, sending a jolt through the crowd. When a bizarre blown pass interference interception put Texas on the doorstep, Ewers threw a second touchdown pass to bring the Longhorns within one score at 23-15.

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“I felt (the change) was effective, and Quinn came out and played a much better second half and played well in the third quarter,” Sarkisian said.

“I just sat down and tried not to make it the play and just kept playing,” Ewers said.

He played better, but not well enough to lead a comeback and put the benching out of our minds. He finished 25-for-43 passing for 211 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Ewers has typically played well in Texas’ biggest games, including twice against Alabama, the Big 12 championship against Oklahoma State, the playoff game against Washington and the trip to Michigan earlier this year. After his injury, he struggled early against Oklahoma last week and was as bad as he ever looked in the first half against Georgia.

When asked if the oblique injury still bothers him, Ewers said it bothers him a little, but it might just be a mental hurdle.

“But that’s the way injuries go,” he said.

Sarkisian can say he just wanted to calm Ewers down, but he wouldn’t have made a change if he didn’t think Manning had given them a chance to come back. Texas’ defense played well, allowing just 283 yards and 4.0 yards per play. If Texas could have just gotten something going on offense and stopped turning the ball over in bad spots, they would have had a chance to win the game and remain undefeated. That’s why he took the risk of the QB change. It didn’t work.

It’s a loss that completely opens up the SEC race again. No SEC team is undefeated in November for the first time since 2007. Only Texas A&M and LSU are undefeated in conference play and will play each other next week.

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Texas is still good enough to win a national championship. Sarkisian knows that. Perhaps the brief benching will ultimately be the motivation for Ewers to fix things on the field and take the Longhorns to the top. When asked if he was ready to get more Arch questions, Ewers scoffed and chuckled and said, “I don’t know.”

Every Texas game going forward will start with the possibility of Manning coming in if Ewers doesn’t play well. For a year and a half, Sarkisian had skillfully avoided that. Now he has opened it. In a season with sky-high expectations for a program that is always in focus, an unexpectedly large question mark has just appeared.